Are You Sure You Are A Perfectionist?
Have you ever thought to yourself: “Oh I am a perfectionist, I must do this the right way, there must be no mistake, else I am not gonna do it.” or “I must be seen as Perfect, not showing my flaws at all.”
Is that what a Perfectionist is about? Someone who thinks that he or she needs to be perfect? Can’t have any error? Thus not gonna try anything until they are absolutely sure that they can perform without showing any flaw?
Would you consider someone like that to be “Perfect”? For me, it’s a big fat NO.
Perfectionism
Me, being a Perfectionist myself, means that I would not be easily contented or satisfied (and we are only talking at the satisfaction level, not even elated yet) with the current state, and we will do whatever it takes to make it infinitely better. With that said, Perfection is an Infinite Game to me…
Some may be more realistic than me; thus they move away from the word Perfect to Excellence – In pursuit of Excellence.
But what is Excellence? To me, it’s just a different word to express the same thing – that feeling/desire inside you where you would strive to infinity. But a different word can have different impacts because of the meaning that we gave it, resulting in a different expectation.
“Watch your thoughts, they become your words;
Watch your words, they become your actions;
Watch your actions, they become your habits;
Watch your habits, they become your character;
Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.” – Lao Tzu
In short, Thoughts lead to Words lead to Actions lead to Habits lead to Character, and
all lead to our Destiny.
I don’t mind being associated with the word “Perfectionist” at all. And I like being different. Thus, I reframed myself as the Practical Perfectionist after reading about the 80/20 rule.
Recently, I got to know a friend whose life motto is “Inconfidence is a Gift”. I felt instant rapport with her as it seems to be the same desire that drives our “fear” – As Tony Robbins says, all human beings have 2 primary fears – We belong to the “We’re not Enough” category.
Who is Perfect?
Who can be seen with Perfectionism? Those who are demanding, always raising their standards, and of themselves.
Everything has its pros and cons, strengths and weaknesses, advantages, and disadvantages. It is to the degree that we intensify and optimize it in our execution of the tasks at hand or in the preparation/practice.
Example: Who is the Perfect Footballer for you, in your eyes? Cristiano Ronaldo Or Lionel Messi? Are they perfect? No, they are not. They are the best in what they do, but No One is Perfect.
Look at the top goal scorers of the season in any sport. Usually, people don’t realize that they tend to try more than others too, which also means they miss more than others.
Being a perfectionist means that you’ll always have that insatiable drive to do things better. We also need to focus on the next step. On the way to perfection, you have to show your imperfections rather than hiding them.
“Hiding Your Imperfections is What Stops You From Being Perfect.” – Max Yeo